Friday, October 28, 2016

Art of Sauerkraut



 Sauerkraut with out salt

I used caraway, celery and dill seeds. And some fresh cut dill weed.

Mixed with the onion puree it was smelling like heaven the second day.

Two large and one small cabbage with four large onions. I chopped and blended the onion a little at a time, with enough water to make it blendable.

Making sure the shredded cabbage was under the liquid to keep out the oxygen. Plate and rock on top. Plastic wrap around the plate so I could pull it out (not the best idea) A plate with a handle on it with enough room for a heavy weight, would be best. And plastic wrap over the top of the crock to work like an air lock.

Straight verses tapered walls: a plate will fit the same all the way down for straight walls. Tapered walls may require several different sized plates as you remove the kraut.



Natural Food Preservatives (you don't need to use salt!!!)


Lactic Acid (this is the product of fermentation) vinegar

Raw Onions (blend enough onions to cover the cabbage)

Hot Peppers (actually mellows out during fermentation)

Garlic (garlic and ginger make that Kim Chi flavor)

Ginger (probably not as strong)

Lemon and Lime juice

Salt (this can lead to heart disease, by dehydration)

  • 5 pounds cabbage cabbage cabbage 
  • 1 Tbsp. caraway seeds caraway seeds caraway seeds 
  • 1 Tbsp. dill seeds dill seeds dill seeds 
  • 1 Tbsp. celery seeds celery seeds celery seeds 
  • 1 Tbsp. crushed peppercorns crushed peppercorns crushed peppercorns 


Filtered water


clean and shred cabbage into a clean container.
Press with a ceramic plate or olive oil on top of the brine will keep out the Oxygen, mold and yeast. Or use coconut oil


The candida-preventing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has the ability to shift from fermentative to oxidative depending on the level of oxygen available. Keep the oxygen out, and this friendly yeast can help your guts heal.


In Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, chopped cabbage is usually pickled together with shredded carrots. Other ingredients may include whole or quartered apples for additional flavor or cranberry for flavor and better keeping (the benzoic acid in cranberries is a common preservative).

Excessive consumption of sauerkraut may lead to bloating and flatulence due to the trisaccharide raffinose, which the human small intestine cannot break down.





http://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/category/lacto-fermentation-recipes/?tag=238#browse_articles
kraut in it's crock

http://sweethealthyliving.com/2012/03/how-to-make-salt-less-sauerkraut/

http://joybileefarm.com/fermented-vegetables-no-salt/


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Canned fish




Most canned fish is not very good these days. Don't even try to eat tuna, it is full of Mercury! Fry out the water then add good oil. Do not add more salt!
  • Olive oil or Tahini. Or even soy mayonnaise?
  • Kimchi? Or what ever you want.
  • Ground up Olives (if you can find some with out salt)
  • Toasted sprouted whole grain bread


Fish cakes
  • can-o-fish
  • herbs / chives / dry onion flakes
  • eggs
  • Masa Hernia corn meal

Fry it

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Zen and the Art of Soup


Soup is at once the easiest and yet, least understood food. All you really need is sugar (vegetables) salt and fat (oils). Mixed in hot water!
  • ½ cup each Pearled barley cooked with Lintels or beans???
  • What ever vegetables you can find (food bank?)
  • I like to saute' mushrooms in balsamic vinegar.
  • Nettles and Sorrel or maybe Savory, Basil, Oregano, Celery seed, fresh Ginger....
  • Kim-Chi or Sauerkraut, chopped in machine?
  • Miso is even better for the salty warmth.
  • Tahini (to taste) or possibly peanut butter without hydrogenated fats! or at least olive oil! Blue Cheese is a fabulous tasting fat. Toasted sesame oil is another one.
  • Secrets ingredients for soups
  • Acidic ingredients like umiboshi vinegar or lemon juice or anchovy sauce.
  • Good tasting fat like schmaltz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmaltz

Traditionally a base for soup is 2 parts onion 1 part carrot and 1 part celery, but a better base is leeks carrots celeriac. But anything works if you have olive oil and salt.




Monday, October 10, 2016

KimChi SUPER FOOD!








This is the most nutritional food you can get in the middle of the winter.

There are many many different kinds of Kimchi. So make up your own. It was kept in the ground in large ceramic pots with lids all winter.


Fido jars with lids that let
pressure out but not back in.

Use an airlock or a clamp down lid that works like an airlock. Or just keep the lid slightly loose.

  • Cabbage: Bok-choy (the most nutritious) Head cabbage (use Kraut shredder), Nappa cabbage,or Swiss chard?
  • Kosher salt (for soaking cabbage for 2-3 hours then rinse out all of the salt! Do not use brine in this!)
  • Daikon radish, and/or Carrots (cut thinly)
  • Cucumber? (Good substitute for Radish.)
  • Bell peppers could be good.
  • Green Apple chunks or grated (do not use sugar!)
  • Scallions or green onion, or even dried onion flakes.



  • Paste” to mix onto the vegy:
  • fresh Ginger (grated with a micro-plane, or minced)
  • Garlic cloves, (minced or pressed)
  • Pepper flakes (Gochugaru or what ever hot pepper flakes)
  • or minced fresh HOT peppers. Remember that seeds and spines are the most piquant parts!
  • Sea weed for Umami flavor! Wakame, Kombu or Dulse has the best flavor (powdered kelp? you don't need much; ¾tsp will replace 2tbsp seafood)
  • Dried Bonito flakes would be excellent.
  • Miso paste is the best for Umami and starter bacteria! Put a little in the paste.
Brine (washed out after soaking cabbage): one tablespoon salt to one cup water; for sucking juice out of cabbage.
Once it goes beyond sour, into sweet and alcohol-smell, it is spoiled. But not completely inedible, according to some people.
Just keep adding more to the pot when it gets low.

Kimchi and sauerkraut ferment primarily form lactic-acid bacteria. Yeasts and molds are in the kingdom of Fungi, they are eukayotes (have organelles even if only single-celled). Bacteria are smaller and are a different branch of the biological family - prokaryotes, no internal organelles.